Like the rich, dark brews of southern England this traditional ale draws on specialty malts such as chocolate, caramel and black patent. “Nut Brown Ale” is a deliciously flavourful dark beer like those popular in early Nova Scotia.

Reviews by mrmanning:

Thanks goes out to Jer for bringing home the bacon on this one. Body is dark brown, with a caramel coloured head. Aroma is a combination of roasted malt and a sweet earthiness. Taste is suprisingly smokey and earthy as well. Smooth mouthfeel. Somewhat nutty aftertaste. Decent indeed.At toronro spring tasting, 2004. (316 characters)

More User Reviews:

The beer pours a clear brown color with a tan head. The aroma is toasted malt, toffee, caramel and some chocolate. The flavor is toffee, chocolate, earthy hops and some toasted malt. A pretty basic brown ale in both flavor and aroma. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. (274 characters)

Taste is that of a solid brown ale, but doesn't deliver on the same level as the nose. Malts were big here. All the flavors were there, but were a bit muted, especially towards the finish. A bit of a bolder effort would have made for a quality brew. As it is, the taste is merely satisfactory.

Slightly watery, decent carbonation. About right for the style to avoid being classed as a porter.

341ml bottle, part of the MIXED-6 pack currently available in Alberta.

This beer pours a clear, very dark reddish cola hue, with two fingers of weakly puffy, yet densely foamy beige head, which leaves a few promontories of jagged lace around the glass as it quickly settles.

It smells of gritty bready caramel malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, hazelnut and pistachio nut, a touch of sour milk, subtle earthy yeast, and some earthy, weedy, and leafy hops. The taste is sweet 'n nutty caramel malt (the particular nut character obfuscated as it is in most confections), stale milk chocolate, a wisp of meaty smoke, a certain metallic flintiness, and some wan leafy, herbal hops.

The carbonation is on the low side of things, with its plain Jane frothiness, the body medium-light in weight, mostly smooth, and perhaps a tad creamy. It finishes well off-dry, the sweet nutty malt giving way to the feebly surging weedy, herbal hops.

A nice, generally balanced brown ale - lots of flavour - the only drawback is that middling, weird, and kind of medicinally herbal hop essence - surely a different varietal would do this offering a whole lot more justice, eh? (1,159 characters)

Surprisingly well hopped, with decent licorish and hoppy aroma, good dark brown, and nice bitter but also malted finish.Another decent beer from Halifax, with this brewery and Garrison they are not famished for drink. Thanks for bringing back Terry Z. (251 characters)

Poured coffee brown to dark brown with a creamy foam. The smell of roasted malt, nut, and caramel is whaffing from the glass. I found that this got even better as it settled in the glass. The taste was very traditional; a rather heavy malty taste. The taste is more potent over time. Decent drinkablility, though after one I was ready to move on to something else. (364 characters)

A - bubbly deep amber brown, generous tan head was consistently replenished from the rising bubblesS - caramel and nutty malt, cedar, cherry, and light grassy hopsT - very nutty and sweet thick molasses malt flavours dominate, some fresh cedar and a hint of leafy hopsM - well carbonated with a creamy feel up front, finishes sweet and fullD - a solid nut brown ale, doesn't stand out in any particular way but does everything well, maybe a bit too sweet to be a sessioner (476 characters)

Pours a fairly dark reddish brown with lots of ruby around the edges of the glass and a large medium tan head that is retained well but leaves very little lacing. Smell is quite sweet and malty, with nutty notes and a little bit of coffee. Taste rather fruity, with cherry and plum showing up alongside the caramel and coffee, and a dry astringency in the finish. Mouthfeel is slick and oily, undercarbonated and not all that pleasing, and the drinkability is average. A bit disappointing, I had high hopes for this one. Their Martello Stout is quite nice, but this doesn't do it for me. (587 characters)

Poured into a pint glass relatively quickly. A medium to dark brown with some definite redness to it. The beige head climbed only to about 3/4 of a centimetre thick, and faded to a thin cap and ring around the glass.

First impression from the smell is that it is a bit chocolatey and nutty, though at the same time it isn't overly sweet. Though I can't place the hops, I can tell that there are enough to compete with the malt aroma. The two smells don't seem to mix, they almost feel like they are coming from two different places. The overall effect is alright, but not mind blowing.

Chocolate and nut make themselves known again in the taste department, though they are subtle about it. Hop finish is not very strong and what lingers is a slight mustiness, almost an off flavour. This gets better as you drink, becomes less potent. In the end I don't find it to be very pleasing though.

Light and slick across the tongue, not a lot of body here. Carbonation is mild. Together it is just an okay feel.

Not a bad beer, but has its shortcomings. I really don't like the stale mustiness in the finish. Perhaps their yeast doesn't agree with me. (1,230 characters)

Appearance: Not that brown...When you expose it to a little light it's more of a dark sanguine. Not much head, only a ring around my glass.

Smell: A bit of coffee, some freshly ground grain, a cola-like caramel and a bit of ash/burnt aroma.

Taste: Also a bit ashy at first, it did turn out some interesting toasted walnuts/roasted peanut flavor. However the mouthfeel was too light for me. Maybe I'm just not a fan of this style. (435 characters)

Bottle: Poured a clear deep brown color ale with a off-white foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma consists of medium sweet caramel malt with light nutty finish. Taste is also a nice enough mix between some well balanced sweet caramel malt with light nuttiness and no discernable hops presence. Body is a bit light with good carbonation. Not bad but not s style that I have any passion for. (409 characters)

On the pour, a very deep garnet in color with a modest sized head and the texture frothy as it depletes the lace forms a nice fine sheet to obscure the glass. The nose a nice Brown Ale nutty sweet, loads of malt, some hints of sweet butter and quite fresh and pleasant to the senses. Front is sweet, the top is skinny in its feel to the palate, finish has a light carbonation and the hops apropos to the style, dry aftertaste and a nice quaffable brew tis true. (463 characters)

Since Im down here in Hali, I decided to pick up this homegrown brew. Pours a deep redish brown with a really nice thick rocky tan head that stays around. Smells of roasted nuts and chocolate. The taste is very similar with a little bit of caramel. Really nice lacing that goes all the way down the glass. Sticking to the style, this brew is very smooth with little carbonation and no bitterness. Im very glad I picked this one up and cant wait to try their other brews. (470 characters)